, 1887-09-16
CONCERNING THE FOOD QUESTION.

Tho Manifold Waste in American Living.
Where the workingmRn's Money Goes.
Scientific men are too apt to shoot over
the heads of the people in the discussion
of plain matters, but what Professor At
water had to say on Food" before the
American Association for the Advance
ment of Science, at its recent meeting in
this city, was at n ce suggestive and prac-
teal. He noticed and blamed, as every
one must, the wastefulneSs which marks
American home administration, whether
among the rich or the poor. He might
well have insisted on this point, habitu-
ally overlooked by the people who pro-
fess the deepest interest in social ques-
tons, for reform with regard to it would
instantly dispose of much that working
people call by the name of a grievance.
Those who really desire to help the work
ingman land most men in this world nave
to work), will show him, if they can,
how far he is able to control his own
future by living within his means. This
is the true secret of Independence, and
the man who can learn to apply it for
himself has solved the problem of life.
The waste. in American living is, as
Professor Atwater shows, manifold. We
buy more food than we need; part of it is
eaten and the rest, which has cost hard
earned money, is thrown away; or it is
c}icn merely because it is bought, and SO
the system is overloaded and sickness fol-
lows; or food is bought because it seems
TO be cheap, N eaten unnecessarily,
when less of a better kind would have
done good; or money is thrown away on
what is called a delicacy, which is, in
most cases, a mere m%omentary tickling
of the palate. 1t is within the truth to
say that at least half of the daily expense
of Iii American family for food and
drink is wasted; and the waste is unpar-
donable. Meat seems to be a necessity
for most persons, but nearly every one
eats 1t o often. Those who are doing
hard bodily labor during the day need
meat, perhaps, twice a day in moderate
quantity; but even they would do better
to u k at n meal a soup, or stew, made
of the meat which would otherwise be
thrown away
Many a man whose yearly earnings
amount to $1,000 throws away on use
less or on hurtful food and drink at least
$100-and it must not be supposed that
by drink beer or whisky is meant. There
is abuse of milk and of tea as well as
abuse of beer; and the man who has his
living to make should spend his money
only for things that he can use. A small
piece of meat cooked with vegetables by
s,umering on the fire furnishes a whole
sOnc and nourishing meal for any family,
rich or poor; and for vegetables there is
a wide range of choice. The potato, use
ful as it is, is too exclusively relied on,
while the family Of the peas and beans,
50 extensive inc SO nutritious, is neglected.
There are manuals of diet to be had, from
any one of which an intelligent mother
of a family can learn in a short time how
to choose and how best to prepare the
comparatively inexpensive table for her
household in place of the ~extravagant
dishes that now keep her and her hus-
band poor.
The moderation on which Professor At
water insists as necessary for the health
and the independence of worlmen is still
possible for each one; but there must be
given to the subject q serious attention
and study. There must be cooperation
between the husband and the wife, and a
settled purpose to make the dollar bring
in its value. The men of science reach
their conclusions from the study and the
comparison of many thousand cases, and
their hearer, if his mind is open to the
truth, must confess that their theory
agrees, point by point, with his own per-
sonal experience as a bread winner
Frank Ieslie's.